Nirvana, possibly the greatest band of all time?

Anyone agree? I am totally in favor of it. Nirvana totally changed the way that music was in the 80's and 90's. They were possibly the most influential punk band ever. They did more for Punk Rock than any other band in the world, at least IMO!

 

I am a huge Nirvana fan. I once thought as you did. However, as I got older and learned more, i knew that Nirvana, while being an amazing and influential band, are not the best ever. That is for the Beatles, who, without them, there would be no Nirvana at all.

 

In the best Watto voice possible "No not by a long shot"

I wouldn't even rank them in the top 20 of all time best bands, and I liked their music a lot but they are not up there with the greats. That belongs to The Beach Boys and The Beatles.

 

They're no U2.

 

U2? Oh come on, you can't be serious can you?

Just kidding, although I dislike U2, I respect your decision to enjoy their music.

But not even in the top 20? Are you stoned? I mean come on, its Nirvana! Well everyone is entitled to their opinion, no matter how stupid it is.

 

Not. Even. Close.

What is their clame to fame? The grunge era? Ripping off The Pixies and Sonic Youth? Nirvana was a very good band, maybe even great but certianly not the greatest of all time.

~PAd

 

Nirvana is no match for U2, which is arguably the greatest band in the last 20 years. Remember, they started in the late 1970s and are still going strong. Nirvana's run started later and ended some time ago.

 

"But not even in the top 20? Are you stoned? I mean come on, its Nirvana! Well everyone is entitled to their opinion, no matter how stupid it is."

Trust me and others on this board can confirm it that I'm not stoned. I'm really sober in what I said. They are not in the Top 20 and while I'm at it lets say Top 50. How many hits did they have in 4 years? 6 or 7. Of course you can't base it on hits but they simply are not there and will never be there.

 

Nirvana totally changed the way that music was in the 80's and 90's. They were possibly the most influential punk band ever. They did more for Punk Rock than any other band in the world, at least IMO!

Yes, Nirvana was an influential group. But as you said, Jedi_Master_Anakin, the changed the music of the last two decades and were and changed punk rock forever. So yes, they were important within the last two decades and yes they changed the direction of punk music, but that doesn't make them the greatest band of all time.

Based on influence, popularity and pure musical genius, the greatest band of all time has to be the Beatles. No other group so completely changed music and society.

 

ugh, U2?? Who are you kidding? Sure they've been going for 20 years, but they haven't been relevant for the last 10.

Nirvana was a great band, but they weren't the best band ever, and they were NOT the best punk band ever, probably because they weren't punk.

 

Well technically they were of the Genre of "Grunge Punk", so not definetely just Punk rock, but grunge is a break off of punk.

Oh and to JediLord

I am a huge Nirvana fan. I once thought as you did.

Sorry, I had to laugh at that. It reminded me of SW when Vader tells Luke that "Obi-Wan once though as you did." It made me laugh really hard.

Anyway though, I will agree that The Beatles were probably the most influential band ever, and their music was totally awesome, (I am a HUGE Beatles fan by the way) but Nirvana had so many good songs. Not just hits, but if you look at it, the album Nevermind has been rated either the best or second best album of all time by several Music companies, or TV stations. VH1 for instance. But that doesn't neccesarily mean anything to a lot of people.

Oh and KW, this is for you.

Nirvana is no match for U2, which is arguably the greatest band in the last 20 years. Remember, they started in the late 1970s and are still going strong. Nirvana's run started later and ended some time ago.

Yeah but in just a simple 6 or 7 years Nirvana changed the way music was, and is for that matter. Nirvana's straight forward political values, and style of music changed a generation. Granted U2 has been around for a long time, but so has Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, and many other bands, but that doesn't mean that they don't suck right?

 

If the bandmember hadn't killed himself, I would have more respect for this band. Unfortunately I can't give praise to someone or something involved with suicide. Yes, they were influential. Yes, they were revolutionary... but very far from being the greatest band of all time.

 

Nirvana's straight forward political values, and style of music changed a generation.

And U2's political values didn't have an impact? Think again. No band before them had ever released such a Christian-themed album like October, or Joshua Tree. Think of songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday, and how political they are. And then to change styles so successfully with Achtung Baby was a remarkable achievement. They've grown and evolved in their history and not just stayed with one particular sound or style. Nirvana might have done that, but they didn't last long enough to show it. They haven't had any band members leave, or any major problems. They've kept on going, both as people and as musicians.

Irrelevant bands do not perform at the Grammy Awards two years in a row and 20+ years after they released their first major album.

 

KW, good point. But Nirvana never had anyone leave the band either. They were the same 3 guys when they ended as when they started.

And for the record, Kurt Cobain didn't kill himself, Either the anonamous guy in his room did it, or it was Cortney Love. But Most likely Cortney Love. So there was no suicide involved. Kurt was to ripped off of Heroine to be able to even move, much less aim and fire a gun at himself.

Oh and KW U2's political values have had an impact, but I wil still have to say that Nirvana's for the amount of time they were around were much more influential than U2. Comparitivley of course. But i will say that U2 is an alright group, and I respect that they are anti-war. Becuase I am very anti-war! Of course, so was Nirvana!

 

Then why does the rest of world say that he killed himself?

 

Now, first of all, I'm a huge Nirvana fan, I own all their albums yadayaday BUT, they are not as orginal as you might like. They are basically a cross between the Pixies, Sonic Youth and the Meat Puppets...Hell, Teen Spirit was actually Cobain trying to rewrite a Pixies song.

As for changing music, nope, they killed Hair Metal in mainstream yes, but they did not create a new style of music. They're best feature was their values. They were in it for the music only, that's something I really respect.

 

Don't get me wrong,I love Nirvana. I was a huge fan back in the early 90's before Kurt killed himself, unlike so many wannabe's I knew. But I really don't think you could call them the greatest band of all time.

More than make changes themselves, they just brought those changes to the mainstream. The true innovators were the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Lou Reed ect.

 

Nirvana, possibly the greatest band of all time?

Uh, no. Not even close. I've heard this statement before, but I have to say that it's indefensible.

First of all, The Beatles will always be "The Greatest Band of All Time." The Beatles have taken the most risks, have had the most social and cultural impact, and are, without a doubt, the most important musical phenomenon of the last 50 years. I'm not exaggerating here. The Beatles are that significant. Neither Nirvana nor U2 come close.

Second, I'm one of the people that think Nirvana often gets more credit than it deserves. While they nearly single-handedly ended the decadence and over-the-top attitude that dominated the music industry in the 1980s, Nirvana/Kurt Cobain certainly wasn't the "Voice of a Generation." A more accurate statement would be that Nirvana was the voice of a certain group that felt alienated by the sacharrine tendencies of the music industry.

Also, Nirvana released just two albums that deserve high critical praise (Nevermind and In Utero, though perhaps you could put Unplugged in there as well). Granted, their musical output was stopped with the death of Kurt Cobain.

Speaking of which, there's another reason why Nirvana is so highly regarded; the Cobain's tragic suicide struck such a chord with people that they gave him more praise than he deserved. The guy is a bit like James Dean: he's very good at his craft, but, ultimately, you should judge him by what he did, not by what he would've done.

Finally, one has to evaluate what Nirvana did to change the music industry. They certainly changed it during the early 1990s--but, it was only temporarily. They were the biggest band of the newest trend, plain and simple. We can thank Nirvana (and R.E.M) for what we now call "Alternative Rock," but their particular type of rock--"grunge," to be exact--failed to last more than four years.

So, again, while Nirvana is a very good band, they should not be called "The Greatest Band of All Time." The Beatles have that title reserved.

Post 2600.

 

I'm with Pigfeet on this one. Nirvana...peeeeeeee-yusa!

Why does the rest of the world say Kurt killed himself?

Why does the rest of the world say John Kennedy was killed by Oswald...WHEN HE DID NOT!!!!

Kurt was killed...he didn't kill himself.

If hell exists, I hope there is a special, extra warm spot there for Courtney.

Before you jump up and say..."But...but...MTV said Kurt commited suicide!"

Wathc the Kurt and Courtney documentary that often comes on the Sundance channel.

Courtney.... She's a bad...bad woman.

 

Nirvana is probably my favorite band. They hit big at just the right time for me. They tapped into the teen-angst and gave an angry voice to a generation that was awash in Whitney Houston and M.C. Hammer. While I feel their lyrics are often far from profound, their SOUND is a very powerful discourse and screams out in opposition to all the corporate pop that floods the airwaves daily IMO. I love Nirvana, and truly miss Kurt Cobain.



Courtney Love is a poser ****.

 

I've said this before and I'll say it again : All the Nirvana got us in the long run is Creed.

While I like them, and think they were certainly a good band, and they certainly defined the early 90's, they are most certainly not the greatest band of all time.

DarthNut,
the nuttiest guy around.

 

That is an insult to Nirvana! Creed? Creed sucks! Nirvana is hardly anything like Creed.

Now the reason for me saying that Nirvana is the best band of all time. If you look at the amount of time that Nirvana was around, and the amount of influence they held, they were obviously the most influential band of all time. The Bestles may have had more #1 hits, but they were around for over 15 years. So that doesn't make them very special. Nirvana changed the music industry in a simple 5 years. That is something to be praised for. Also look at the fact that the Beatles, were not in it for the music after the first couple years of fame. They got pissed because of the title of "band leader" and so they broke up. How lame? Very lame. Nirvana would have probably still been together today had Kurt not been killed. I really honestly believe that. They're commitment to the band was unbelievable. I think that they were more dedicated to their music than any other band in the history of music.

 

For all the people saying Cobain ripped off the Pixies and all, the only way you know that is b/c Cobain said so.

 

Nirvana is my favorite band of all time, whether there the greatest is a matter of opinion but I would like to think so.

That is an insult to Nirvana! Creed? Creed sucks! Nirvana is hardly anything like Creed.

Agreed!

 

How did Nirvana change the music industry? Five years afterwards grunge was over, and it turned into god-awful boy-bands. If they really changed the music industry, I'm sure rock wouldn't have virtually disappeared in the late 90's.
Sure, Nirvana has influenced bands today, but they all suck (look at the Creed reference I said before). IMO, the Beatles were MUCH more influential.

DarthNut,
the nuttiest guy around.